Amusement apparatus



""Eb. s, 1927. 4

H. G. TRAVER AMUSEMENT APPARATUS iled J n. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' avwwbo'z GQTrave r Feb. -8, 1927. 1,616,476. H. e. TRAVER AMUSEMENT APARATUs Filed Jan. 18,1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented I Feb. 8, 1927i are HARRY e-f TRAVER, or BEAVER FALZS;EEENNSYLVANIA.

AMUSEMENT Areas-Ares.

Application filed January18, 1924. SerialNoiGSGfiGS;

This invention relates to amusement ap- .paratus usually termed extend laterallythereof and move in horizontal plane has seats for one or'more per-' sons suspended therefrom to participate in the rotative movement of the I frame. In apparatus of this character the frame or sup )ort from which the seats are suspended is edto and carried by a shaft in the tower,sa1d shaft having a positive driving connection with and beingdriven by power means', such as an electric motor or internal combustion engine. It often happens that the power means is suddenly stopped while the apparatus is'in operation, by breakage thereof or in part in the driving connect1on of the power means with the said carry-v ing support, such as a gear, or a breakage in the support, with theresult, due to the positive driving connection between the driving means and seat carrying frame, that this sudden stoppage of the franiecauses the seatswith the passengers not only to come into collision and strike violently against each other, but also to swing inward toward the tower and collide therewith with such force as to causethe collapse ofthe tower with the consequent destruction of the apparatus and possiblyinjury to the passeners. V 1? It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome the above disadvantage by providing an improved driving connection between the power means and the seat carrying support operative to rotate the support from the driving means and to permit ofa limitedretarded or gradual slowing down movement of one relative to the other upon the sudden stoppage of either the drivingmeans or support. I a I It is a further object of the in ention to provide a friction driving coupling between the driving means and the seat carrying sup-- port, one member of which coupling or clutch is operatively conne'ctedto the driving means and the other member connected to the seat carryingsupport, whereby the latter is carried by the clutch member of the driving meansandthe weight of saidsup fl-,It is a' turther ob I provide adjustable and releasable means to variably increase the frictional contact beport serves tomaintain the clutch in opera- I tive driving relation.

eet of the invention to as faeroplane' sw ngsor circle swingswherein a frame or supportrotatably carriedby a tower to said support.

thereby.

tween the trictionclutch members of the couiplingybetween the driving means and seat carrying support, said 'means "comprising yolre shaped clamping" members of resilisn't-material adapted to straddletheperiphk eral portion'of the trictionmmnbers or disks,

withone end ofsaid 'members arranged to trictiona'lly engage-one clutch member and the oppos te end having an adjustable connect oniwith theother clutch member where by to increase and decrease the tension" of said clamping members;

A further object of the inventionrelates to an improved arrangement of means for supporting the tower together with means to'tie together theupper endsof the up rights of the tower, which neans also serves to rotatably mount the said carrying support in the tower.

Another object of the invention relates to an improved construction andarrangement oi seat carry ng support together with improved means for suspendingthe. seats from Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

Inthedrawings accompanying and forniing a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a s de elevation 0t an amusement device with my invention embodied therein.

Figure .2 isfa plan ,view, 'partly' broken I carrying support,ya's wellas of the tower supporting base. I

Figure 3 is a side elevationof the upper. portion of the tower to show the manner of mountingthe seat carrying support therein, I

and the driving connection thereof with its driving means, I

l gure 4; IS a perspect ve view of a portion i 'rictional contact of the coupling orclutch 'members.

away, to show the arrangement ofthe seat. Y

anner. ofconnecting the seat suspending Figure 6: is a pla'nyiew andFigu-re "7 is av cross sectional side elevation of a hearing support for mounting. the driving means ter theseat carrying. support in the tower" I and supporting said seat carrying support FigureiS' is a planview and Figure 9 is aside elevation of a cap to engage the upper ends ofthe uprightsof the tower to'prevent spreading thereof and also; arranged for the rotatable mounting of the seat carrying. support. l w p Figure 10 is a plan View and Figure 11 is a sectional side elevation of a head formport.

1 comprising uprights 18, four'in number, of

ing a part of the seat carrying supporting means wherein tomount arms to extend ra- "diallytherefi'iom and forming a part of the seatgcarrying. support. 7' 3 {Figure 12is a perspective view,partly broken away,. and Figure 13 is, a sectional side elevation of a clutchmember connected to the driving means for "coupling the seat carrying support thereto.

forming a part ofsaid seat carrying sup- Similar characters of reference designate like parts throughout .the different views ,of

the drawings,

' In carrying out the embodiment of the veiitionshownin the drawings I provide a tower built up from structural steel and angle iron. secured at their lower ends to bars 19 arranged in parallel and spaced relationwith'the uprights 18 secured thereto in opposed pairs, the uprights being connected and trussed byItransverse and diagonal bars .20. The-bars 19 form base members which 7 are supported upon'girders in the form of planks 21 extending transversely of the bars 19 belowthe uprights as clearly shown in 'Figure The bars 19 are of such a length as to ex tendbeyond the opposite sides of the tower to form'supportsfor wind braces 22 secured gat; one end to the extremities of the bars 19 and at the opposite ends to the uprights of the-tower. The-uprights 18 converge towardeach other upwardy from the base and are maintained in spaced'relation by a cap '23, (Figures Sand 9) having recesses 24'for the engagement of the ends of the uprights which are secured therein as by bolts orpins,

said cap being arranged with a central opening 2 5 for apurpose to be hereinafterdescribed. 1 r

j I A seat orcar carrying support or frame is 'toweiy said frame comprising a shaft 26 en gaging or mounted inthe cap 23 to have rorotatably mounted and supported in the tative and axial movement therein with a portion of the shaft extending into the tower and a portion above the tower, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, this shaft preferably being tubular. A head 27 (Figures 10 and 11) is-fixed to the shaft 26 intermediate its ends and above the tower said head being ar-.

ranged withcircumferentially disposed and radially extending sockets 28 for the engage- 1116111) of arms in the form of tubular members or pipes 29 to extend radially outward beyond the tower, the arms being'connected and maintained inispaced' relation at their outer extremities by struts 30, as shown in Figures 2 and 4-. The shaft 26 and head 27 mounted thereonwvith the arins29 extend- 'ing radially therefrom and connected by the struts 3O constitute a fi'aineor support for passenger carrying cars or seats which is rotatable in a horizontal plane. The outermost or peripheral POItlOIlof the seat carrymg support is trussed from the shaft26 by truss members in the form of rods 35 connected at one end to eye bolts secured in the extremity of the'arms 29 and the opposite hooked ends engaging in transverse slots "circumferentially disposed around a flange 36 of a cap 37 engaging over the top' of the shaft 26 with the hooked ends engaging over a ring 38 seated within the flange 36 of said cap-as clearly shown in Figures 16 and 17.

Seats 31 for one or more persons are suspended from thestruts 30- of' the frame or support by means ofrods 32 arranged with a hook at one end for releasable connection with the struts and the seats suspended from said rods 32 by flexible means, such as cables or chains, in the present instance shown as chains'38, one chain being connected adjacent to each corner of a seat and maintained in spaced relation by spacer bars 34 connected to and engaged between the chains adja cent the connection thereof with the rods 32.

The connection of the chains'with said rods is in the nature of a swivel connection whereby the seat'may have rot'ative or universal 'movement independent of their movement withthe seat carrying support in the tower.

The seat carrying support or frame 1s operatlvely connected to a source of power or driving means, such an electric motor or internal combustion engine, the latter being illustrated in a diagran'ni'iatic manner at l as constituting the .drivingmea is in the 5 present instance. This operative connection is so arranged whereby the seat carrying support is rotated from the driving means, and the driving means and said carrying support is adapted'to have a'limited retarded, or gradual slowing .down movement, one relative to the other upon the sudden stoppage of either the driving means or the seat carrying support. This connection comprises a driver in the form of a gear 39 fixed to a shaft 40 journaled to rotate on a vertical axis in a hearing member 41 fixed to the uprights 18 ofthe tower, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the shaft with the gear being held-against endwise movement by'a separable bearing consisting of amember 42 fixed to bars extending I transversely of the tower and the other memberdBhaving a hinge connection atone end with the bearing member 42, as at 44,, and

having apcrforated lug or lugs at the opposite end to interengagewitha perforated of the bearing member42 and locked thereto by a .pin engaging the p erforations] in the lugs. The gear 39 is ar-' ranged on the shaft below the bearing member tland' has fixed thereto at the upper end a disk -15 which is supported upon-a ball or rollerbearing carried at the upper end of the bearing support 41, as shown at 46. T he disk 45 constitutes one member of a friction 'tlutchor'coupling, the other member in the from of a friction disk 47 being fixed to the shaft 26 of the seat carrying support. The disk 47 engages upon the disk 45 and by means of which the seatcarrying support is supported upon the disk 45 and the weight of the seat carrying support serving to frictionally couple the disks together to drive said seat carrying support. The hub of the disk as at one side thereof engageswithin the hearing member 4:1 and the hub at the opposite side'of said disk engages within 7 the disk 47, with the shaft 4O engaging in said hub of-the disk and extending into the disk 47, which arrangement serves to center the friction 'disks relative to each other. To increase the frictionalcontact between the disks suitable friction material 4.8,

such as is commonly termed as break lin-- ing may be interposed between the disks To further increase the frictional contact between the disks 45, 47, and vary such frictional contact pressure, although this is not:

deemed absolutely essential to the operation of the device, I. provide yoke shaped mern bers as of resilient or springy material to straddle the peripheral portion of the disks two of said members being shown in the o present instance straddling the disks at diametrically opposite points. One end of these members is adjustably connected to OIIQVOI the disks, in the present instance the disk 45, as by screws threaded into thecxtremity of one leg of the yokesand seated in a recess 51 in the disk, while the eXtremity of the other leg 18 seated in a shoe 52 frictionally bearing against the disk, as

clearly shown in Figure 5. It'will be ob vions that by turning the sort into the one leg of the yokes said leg will be moved away from the disk thereby increasing the tension of the material of the yokes and the force of the engagen'ient of the shoes 52 with the other disk. I

By the arrangement of the driving connection between the seat carrying support and its driver it will be obviousthat one'may have a retarded movement relative to and independent of the otherby the'sudden stop-' mo e of either'the drivinr'r'means due breakage or otherwise, or by the 7 seat car' rying'support or aseat encounteringanob struction whereby the movement ofthe seat carrying support or frame will be brought to a gradual stop instead of a sudden stop with the possibility vof the seats movinginward toward and, colliding with the tower and possible collapsingof' the same. i I

The gear 39-is operativ 'ly connecte'd'to the source ofpower by a tt-53journalled at the upper end in a hearing, as at 54, in the bearing support il (Figure '6), and a bear- 1 ing 55 carriedby across connected to the tower and held against lon itudinaimovement by a collar 56 fiIEOCl to the shaft above the bearing support 41, a pinion 57 meshing with the gear This'shaft is connected by a iawchitch 58 to a shaft 59 having a gear 60 fixed thereto meshing with apinion 61.

connected to the power shaft of theenginel Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In amusement apparatus, a tower, a seat carrying shaft mounted in said tower to rotate on a vertical axis, a driver including a friction disk having a horizontal'surface journalled' in a fixed bearing in the tower coaxially below the seat carrying shaft, and a corresponding friction disk fixed to the seat carrying shaft to engage upon and support said shaft from the driver disk and operativelycouple th'edriver to said shaft.

2. In amusement apparatus, a tower; a

shaft mounted in the upper end of said tower to rotate and have axial movement;

so i

a seat carrying frame mounted upon said Ijecting part rotatably engaging in the per foratio'nof theiirst disk In amusement apparatua a tower; a

shaftrotatably and slidably mounted in said i tower; a frame rotatable with saidshaft extending laterally from the tower; a driver for said shaft rotatably mounted iii-"fixed position in the tower; and a friction clutch between the driver and shaft, comprising friction disk fixed to the driver and the shaft whereby the diskfixed to the; shaft is supported with the shaft from and, driven l bv the'disk on the driver, and means arranged centrally of the disks to aline the. same. r

4. amusement apparatus tower; a shaft 10111'112Ill8tl111tl143 tower; passenger car- ;rymg seatsga frame from Which the seats are suspended rotatable with said shaft; a

driverra friction clutohbetweenthe driver and shaft, comprising disks fixed to the driver and shaft; and adjustable yielding means for engagement of the peripheral [portion of the disks to increase the frictional contact'ofjthe elutch'disks. V

75. 111 amusement apparatus, a tower; a

sha'ttjoutnalled inthe tower; passenger means to variably increase'the frictional contact of the disks, comprising yoke shaped inembers'of resilient material to straddle the peripheralportion of thedisks one leg of theyoke being adjustably connected to one I disk and the vother other disk. ,7 w

.6. In amusement apparatus, the combinareleasably engaging the tower to extend laterally thereof and rotate in a horizontal plane; seats; and means to suspend the seats from the frame comprising, Q

seat suspending chains forming a four point suspension for-the seats, a rodconnected to the frame to have movement on an axis transverse to the axis of the rod; and a swivel connection between the chains and rod to permit of rotative movement ot' tlie seats about the rods independent of their movement with the frame. )7

Signed at Beaver Falls, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, this 29th day of Decembe 1923- v i e HAR e. TR V R- 25 7 tion iot a to\ver;-a :t'rame carried by the 

